Cal's "I don't do journals" Journal

[Cal]

I can't wait to try La Toja. Actually I can. Next week will be LEA Menthol.

The week after is La Toja.

Will that be the stick or the tube, Rave?

Maybe, I'll throw some Clubman on top of it. That sounds good.

The Whiskey Woods goes great with it (IMO that is). Who "nose" if that'll be the same for you?

 

[Cal]

SOTD

Brush: Shavemac 20/48 Silvertip 2-Band
Soap: Bignoli Neutro [no fragrance]
Razor: FOCS GT
Blade: Personna Red (3)
ASL: Chocolate Orange [home brew]

A super shave.

On opening my new Bignoli Neutro today, and sniffing, I could smell absolutely nothing... excellent! I immediately repotted it in a deeper tub ready for this evening's shave.
Come shave time and warm water... there was just a hint of that "baby sick" aroma (that I so love ). I forgot about it during the shave so it couldn't have been that strong.
Albeit totally against my religion, I've left the lid off the soap tub to see if some air will kill that little bit of despised aroma.

A couple of hours post-shave now, all I can smell is my all time favorite ASL (Chocolate Orange). Excellent... except those were the last drops I squeezed out of the bottle. It looks like I'll have to get my amateur perfumer's kit out tomorrow and make some more.


Happy shaves guys.

 

[Johnnynroy]

[mention]Cal [/mention] enjoying catching up on your recent shaves. Do you still use proraso red or the asl? I love the scent, my wife isn’t as much of a fan. I mix it in equal parts in my palm with Stirling Agar with is a spicy oud style scent. This improves it to her nose but not enough. Do you have a recipe that utilizes it? Apologies if I’ve misremembered which of our BOSC brethren uses proraso red.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Cal]

[mention]Cal [/mention] enjoying catching up on your recent shaves. Do you still use proraso red or the asl? I love the scent, my wife isn’t as much of a fan.

I haven't used it for ages... although the soap and ASL used to be my Number One favorites.

I mix it in equal parts in my palm with Stirling Agar with is a spicy oud style scent. This improves it to her nose but not enough. Do you have a recipe that utilizes it?

I don't mix ASLs. I leave that to the experts. My own concoctions (to date) only have a singular fragrance or essential oil in the mix (I like simple ).

 

[Cal]

SOTD

Brush: Shavemac 20/48 Silvertip 2-Band
Soap: Bignoli Neutro [no fragrance]
Razor: RazoRock Lupo 95 GT
Blade: Personna Red (4)
ASL: Orange FREEZE [home brew]

A very nice shave.


Happy shaves guys.

 

[Cal]

SOTD

Brush: Shavemac 20/48 Silvertip 2-Band
Soap: Bignoli Neutro [no fragrance]
Razor: RazoRock Lupo 95 GT
Blade: Personna Red (5)
ASL: Whiskey Woods

A most pleasant shave.
All is well in ZenShaveLand.


Happy shaves guys.

 

[Johnnynroy]

I haven't used it for ages... although the soap and ASL used to be my Number One favorites.

I don't mix ASLs. I leave that to the experts. My own concoctions (to date) only have a singular fragrance or essential oil in the mix (I like simple ).

Gotcha, wasn’t sure so thought I’d ask. Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Cal]

SOTD

Brush: Shavemac 20/48 Silvertip 2-Band
Soap: Bignoli Neutro [no fragrance]
Razor: RazoRock Lupo 95 GT
Blade: Personna Red (6)
ASL: Whiskey Woods

An excellent shave.

That was Bignoli Neutro shave #4 and the little bit of "scent" has gone, it's truly neutral now. Of the few unscented soaps I've tried that's the only one that's ended up smelling of "nothing," marvelous.

I really enjoy having a truly scentless soap... no distractions during the shave, and whatever ASL I decide on won't be "contaminated."


Happy shaves guys.

 

[Cal]

SOTD

Brush: Omega 599 Super Badger 22/48
Soap: Bignoli Neutro [no fragrance]
Razor: RazoRock Lupo 95 GT
Blade: Personna Red (7)
ASL: Clubman

A good shave.


Happy shaves guys.

 

[Cal]

SOTD

Brush: Semogue Torga-C3 Finest Mistura 22/49
Soap: La Toja
Razor: RazoRock Lupo 95 GT
Blade: Personna Red (8)
ASL: Freshly Baked Bread [home brew]

A good shave.
Tonight's team put on a good show and the Freshly Baked Bread ASL was fun.


Happy shaves guys.

 

[Cal]

SOTD

Brush: Shavemac Silvertip D01 16/47
Soap: Bignoli Neutro
Razor: RazoRock Lupo 95 GT
Blade: Personna Red (9)
ASL: Chocolate Orange [home brew]

An excellent shave.
I'd forgotten how fabulous my tiny Shavemac was, and my renewed ASL topped the whole thing off perfectly.


Happy shaves guys.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Cal, when I leave a chunk of Vitos Red Cocco out in the open air of the room for a few weeks before putting it into the container I notice no scent at all.

The almond scent is certainly gone. (I don't like that scent.)

There might be a tiny bitty smidgeon of coconut scent remaining which I can appreciate if I try really hard to find it with my nose, but, then again it might be imaginary.

I really don't notice any scent at all.

Occasionally I'll try a soap with a scent I like, but what I realize is I prefer no scent in the shaving soap. That's quite a revelation for me.

Maybe we can start a trend?

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Cal]

SOTD

Brush: Shavemac Silvertip D01 16/47
Soap: Vitos Red (coconut flavor)
Razor: RazoRock Lupo 95 GT
Blade: Personna Red (10)
ASL: Chocolate Orange [home brew]

A most pleasant shave.

Following (@Chan Eil Whiskers) Jim's post, the Vitos Red (coconut flavor) came out of hibernation (after nearly a year!). It certainly had an almond scent on opening the tin... but was unnoticeable during the shave.

I think I'll stick with the Vitos for a while, it's great. It doesn't have quite the luxury feel or slickness of Bignoli, but then it doesn't cost anywhere near as much.


Happy shaves guys.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

SOTD
View attachment 1330619

Brush: Shavemac Silvertip D01 16/47
Soap: Vitos Red (coconut flavor)
Razor: RazoRock Lupo 95 GT
Blade: Personna Red (10)
ASL: Chocolate Orange [home brew]

A most pleasant shave.

Following (@Chan Eil Whiskers) Jim's post, the Vitos Red (coconut flavor) came out of hibernation (after nearly a year!). It certainly had an almond scent on opening the tin... but was unnoticeable during the shave.

I think I'll stick with the Vitos for a while, it's great. It doesn't have quite the luxury feel or slickness of Bignoli, but then it doesn't cost anywhere near as much.


Happy shaves guys.

I know this goes against the grain for you, Cal, but you would love it if you tried it.

Yeah, I know you're not gonna.

I am very sure my shaves have improved across the board since I've been washing my face with the Cube and using the Tube as an easy preshave.

I've tried other preshaves (and am not knocking 'em), but this stuff is vastly better than any others I've used.

I really really hate the Vitos chemically smelling almond scent and am so happy I discovered or was told how to get rid of it.

No soap I've tried seems any better to me than Vitos Red Cocco. That doesn't mean of course that I'm right. Especially for someone else. Plus I've not tried every soap.

Some quite expensive soaps don't suit me anywhere near as well as this El Cheapo.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Cal]

SOTD

Brush: Shavemac Silvertip D01 16/47
Soap: Vitos Red (coconut flavor)
Razor: RazoRock Lupo 95 GT
Blade: Personna Red (11)
ASL: Freshly Baked Bread [home brew]

A very nice shave.


Happy shaves guys.

 

[Cal]

SOTD

Brush: Shavemac Silvertip D01 16/47
Soap: Vitos Red (coconut flavor)
Razor: RazoRock Lupo 95 GT
Blade: Personna Red (12)
ASL: Chocolate Orange [home brew]

A fine shave. (This ASL is so relaxing. )


Happy shaves guys.

 

[Cal]

SOTD

Brush: Shavemac Silvertip 2-Band 20/48
Soap: Vitos Red [coconut flavor]
Razor: RazoRock Lupo 95 GT
Blade: Personna Red (13)
ASL: Chocolate Orange [home brew]

A great shave.
Is this team of hardware and software the ultimate, or is it just my imagination? Dunno, but I'm happy.


Happy shaves guys.

---

FAVORITES UPDATE

Favorite Brush:
DUNNO
Just too many great brushes to choose from.

Favorite Shaving Soap:

Thanks for directing me back onto the right track Jim (@Chan Eil Whiskers).

Favorite DE Razor:
RazoRock Lupo 95 GT

There's so many good things about it. I particularly like that the safety bar is the same length as the blade edge... and of course the GT handle by Doug (@Rosseforp) is not only good looking but makes maneuverability so easy. Doug's GT handles are the best I've ever used.

Favorite DE Blade:
Personna Red

My first "blade love" and it's still there at the top.

Favorite After Shave Lotion:
Chocolate Orange (home brew)

Great burn, significant chill, and after that the scent is just SO luxurious and relaxing.

Of course, that could all change tomorrow... but I doubt it. (I'm still trying to "home in" on a favorite brush.)

 

[Cal]

SOTD

Brush: Omega S10065 24/56
Cream: La Toja Classic
Razor: RazoRock Lupo 95 GT
Blade: Personna Red (14)
ASL: Clubman Whiskey Woods

An excellent shave.

I had to take up (@Raven Koenes) Rave's challenge and shave with my nearly forgotten S-Brush and a tubed cream. Well, I squeezed an inch of La Toja Classic onto my damp S-Brush and started face lathering (adding mini dips of water as required). Rave was complaining about S-Brushes being lather hogs.

As soon as I noticed diminishing lather from the brush, I simply gave the base of the knot a squeeze. With just that single squeeze I had sufficient lather for the rest of the shave AND a good bit spare (to clean the drains with ).

I still really like my S-Brush. If they came in smaller sizes (20mm or less) the finger would be pressing that buy-it-now button pronto.


Happy shaves guys.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

The joys of bowl loading...

I found that with creams, some of the product would migrate deeper into the knot, leaving only part of it doing the dance of love with the water, and producing fine lather. That didn't happen with a lot of soaps, which clung to the tips of the bristles better, keeping it "in play". Usually. More on that later.

With my bowl loading (not to be confused with bowl lathering) the cream seems to get "stuck" in the knot a lot less, as water and cream is being loaded together. That change in hydration at the point of loading, seems to help all the cream stay in motion with the movement of the bristles. If I were to do what you and @Raven Koenes are doing, I too would need far more cream than my usual ~1ml (for which, imagine a 1cm or 3/8" cube).

With soaps, at some point during its hydration from solid form, to lather, it passes through that "stuck in the knot" stage of stickiness. As such, some soaps can lock in like creams. I have discovered that I can tweak this, by which way up I leave the brush between passes. If a soap seems to get too rich on the bristles between uses, I sit the brush on a stand, bristles down, so that any water deeper in the knot, runs down to stop the lather at the tips getting too rich. Conversely, if a soap seems prone to being hogged, sitting it on the handle, so any water that hasn't fully incorporated, runs down to soften and loosen the claggy stuff in the knot.

I also do something similar for rinsing. After lathering for my last pass, I put the brush in the sink, handle down (remember - I rinse my razor in a mug), and by the time I've taken that last pass, most of the lather has already floated out, and what hasn't is softened and a doddle to shift. It makes rinsing my brushes so much easier!

The reason for saying all this gibberish:

If you're not interested in trying my bowl loading thing (which I don't think either of you will be), there might be another way to unlock all that trapped product. After lathering for your first pass, dip the tips in water, and set the brush down on its handle. While your shaving that first pass, the water will run down into the knot, and hopefully free up the trapped product for your second lather.

Might work. Might not. Worth a try though.

 

[Cal]

Might work. Might not. Worth a try though.

But Al... my lather was perfect.

And (being a lover of simplicity) don't start me on ancillary equipment like bowls and such.